Jat leaders have postponed their protest seeking reservation for 15 days after a delegation of senior community leaders met Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, several TV reports said on Sunday. Khattar had invited Jat leaders for talks in Delhi on Sunday, in a bid to end the community's 50-day long agitation demanding reservation for the community.

According to Times Now, the Haryana government agreed to most of the demands made by the agitators, including the demand for compensating those who have been injured in the protests. With the protests postponed for a fortnight, New Delhi will not face a blockade on Monday. The Akhil Bhartiya Jat Arakashan Sangharsh Samiti, led by Yashpal Malik, had threatened to 'gherao' Parliament beginning on 20 March, to press for their demands.

Earlier, reports had also suggested that the Delhi metro service would be affected by the agitation.

Cops injured in clashes

Meanwhile, a deputy superintendent of police was among nine policemen who got injured when Jat protesters clashed with police during their march towards Delhi in Fatehabad on Sunday. Protesters also torched two police vehicles.

A Jat leader, however, claimed that police had lobbed tear gas shells and tried to disperse them when they were marching in a peaceful manner. He claimed a few protesters were also injured.

Representational image. PTI

The clash took place in Dhani Gopal village on Sirsa-Hisar Delhi National Highway when police tried to stop tractor trolleys carrying protesters from heading towards the national capital, police said. They said some stones were also pelted by the protesters as they clashed with the police.

Heavy security around Delhi

In a pre-mptive move, the Centre had mobilised around 24,700 paramilitary personnel in various parts of Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in view of the Jat protests.

Officials supervising forces' deployment said a total of 247 companies of these forces have been tasked to secure various locations in and around the national capital region and parts of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The Centre had on Saturday asked police forces of Delhi and its neighbouring states to stop the agitators well before they reach the borders of the capital.

In an advisory, the Union Home Ministry had told the Delhi Police and governments of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to invoke CrPC 144 to stop Jat protesters, who threatened to stage protests in Delhi demanding reservations in jobs and education, from reaching the national capital.

Arrest or detain the protesters much before they enter Delhi, disallow movement of buses carrying the protesters on highways and ban tractor trolley movement, the advisory had said.

Apart from demanding quota for the community, the protesters have been demanding general amnesty for the accused in last year's February Jat stir, which and regular jobs for the kin of those persons killed in the agitation.

Violence during the agitation last year had left 30 people dead and over 200 injured. Government and private property worth hundreds of crores of rupees was damaged during the violence in February 2016.